


One Friend Lost Another Gained

by brainlessomniscent



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aliens, Beating, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Hacking, Illegal Activities, M/M, Medical Torture, Near Death Experiences, Needles, PSYCHIC PSYCHIC PSYCHIC, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, The Windy Thing (Homestuck), Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-01-21 22:20:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12467200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brainlessomniscent/pseuds/brainlessomniscent
Summary: Best friends John and Dave are tight and sweet as hella bros but when Dave goes missing, a new friend may lead him home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am soooo lame for going around in circles with these homestuck stories but i need to get them out of my head!
> 
> Enjoy, I tried really hard

ghostyTrickster [GT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

GT: you’ll never believe what just happened!  
TG: what  
GT: i just watched the coolest movie ever, it was like, an adult movie.  
TG: let me guess  
TG: you watched the ballad of little joe right  
TG: shit was nuts  
GT: huh?  
TG: guess not  
TG: or how about gideon: tuba warrior  
TG: i know how much you hate saucy vegetables with bitching instruments  
TG: shit is scary as fuck yo  
GT: yeah sure whatever.   
GT: i can’t believe you still reference that junk!  
GT: sooooo lame!  
TG: nah man you know all thats in my house is gay gay smuppet laid and  
GT: irony?  
TG: irony  
TG: and the last time i blessed your sweet virgin ears with porn you swore vomiting on sight  
GT: yeah i guess you’re right.  
GT: but no i’m not talking about veggietales you dork this was way better.  
TG: so you gonna tell me what it is or am i gonna sit here and beat some meat imagining some tasty vegetables instead  
TG: wish i had a cucumber to beat instead right about now but all ive got is this long meaty  
GT: it’s called con air!  
GT: shut up with your gross metaphors haha  
GT: so you ever heard of it?  
TG: no  
TG: see above rant of my home movies  
GT: oh yeah.  
GT: but anyway its got like these cool explosions and blood and fighting and stuff.  
GT: you should watch it.  
TG: seriously man not likely  
TG: but thats pretty intense, gotta say  
GT: i know right?  
GT: dad let me, i was really surprised he let me!  
TG: sounds great bro im glad  
TG: maybe some lameness will finally leave you like a prom date with an ugly poser  
TG: youre the ugly poser by the way  
TG: shes finally realized shes way better than you and moves on with her life  
TG: but hey at least you got rid of that lameness you know  
TG: hell you could even be seen with me some day  
TG: would you be my prom date egbert  
TG: just treat me well man bring me flowers and stuff  
TG: flowers of macho dude bro love  
GT: yeah of course  
GT: you are the true love. it’s you.  
TG: wow you sure know how to make a girl swoon  
TG: you got any wilted flowers or are you just gonna pick them from my front yard man pony up  
GT: obviously they're a bouquet of bunnies instead.  
GT: only the best for my prom date :)   
GT: but uh my dad wants me to go now, he kinda needs the computer.  
TG: whatever  
TG: later homo trash  
GT: talk to you later…  
GT: bro!  
TG: stop  
TG: do not pass go  
TG: your prom date forgave you for ever thinking you could pull off that word  
TG: get the hell out of here you ultimate lameness  
TG: bro  
GT: :)

ghostyTrickster [GT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

Dave hesitantly pushes away from his computer. He rubs his eyes long and hard as possible. Spots flutter in his vision, on the brink of blackout before he finally stops and gets up, stumbling out of his room. 

He takes his time looking for a sword, checking everywhere in the living room and kitchen even though he knows where he'll find them. Obviously swords are stored in the fridge. 

He opens the fridge and dodges some shitty swords with ease, snatching one up. He knows he can’t put it off any longer.

He trudges up the stairs, fingering the note in his pocket, upon which is scrawled, “Bro. Roof. Now.” He told himself he needed to finish talking to John, definitely. Bro wouldn’t fault him on keeping his cool. Still, John left pretty quick, forcing Dave to go. He didn’t want to go… He didn’t want to fight. But he didn’t need to be reminded to bring a sword, either. That one time he didn't, Bro made sure he wouldn't forget again.

Pushing that thought away, Dave finally makes it to the roof. He wishes he could keep his head down but he stares right in the middle of the door, knowing Bro would expose his weakness against light. He pushes open the door and darkness descends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: brief, semi graphic torture.
> 
> Please be warned!

GT: hey dave, you alright?   
TG: yeah why  
GT: we’ve been talking for like an hour and you’ve ranted maybe once and rapped none?  
GT: and honestly that rant SUCKED.   
TG: cmon man just  
TG: fuck off  
GT: see?   
GT: i’m worried!   
TG: jesus christ john   
TG: just let it go  
TG: im messing with you see haha got your prankster gambit  
GT: no you didn’t you don’t trick, dave.  
GT: you irony.  
GT: also if you don’t tell me i’ll just keep bugging you.  
TG: look john i just had a shit day let my ironic mask of cool keep so i dont flip out  
TG: is that ok or do i gotta smack a bitch   
GT: ...  
GT: ….  
GT: ……..  
TG: jesus christ stop pulling a jade and get to the point  
GT: am i the bitch? is it me?  
TG: of course bro  
TG: your the bitchingest bitch that ever bitched  
GT: :B  
TG: you suck  
GT: love you too dave.  
TG: for real though i gotta go  
GT: awwww why?  
TG: at the library   
TG: needed to get out of the house and needed some air  
GT: so you picked a library   
GT: the stuffiest building i can think of and also a building that’s inside.  
TG: shut up let me live my life  
GT: nah i own you and your life.  
TG: smooches talk to you later  
GT: bye! 

Dave shuts down the computer and mentally prepares himself to go back. Bro would be up soon anyway, best to get to his room before that happened. Shoving out of the library, Dave heads for home. 

Fuck though, that teacher getting all up in his business like that pissed him off. He gave her a good cussing and she backed off. Most teachers did, just like Bro taught him. 

What did she even mean, Bro being a bad influence and shit? Sure, Dave hated roof strifes and sneaking around but for the most part, Bro left him alone and it was fine. Stuffing his face with Doritos, Mountain Dew and some sweet AJ when he got the chance, never having to do his homework, and get this, he was allowed to do whatever he wanted while training to be a hero.

Living with Bro was sweet.

Dave rushes up the stairs of the apartment, knowing Bro would still be out from partying the night before, maybe for another half hour. If he made it to his room with some food, he’d be able to avoid another strife today. His side still felt raw from trying to get some cereal before school, oozing a bit, even with the tight bandages. 

Definitely living the dream.

Dave makes it to the top in a flash step and starts to open the door when he hears a SMASH. He immediately hunkers down and presses an ear to the door, wondering if Bro was awake. If he was mad, that would be a problem. If he was just filming or messing around with some smuppets, Dave could probably get by and skip dinner to be safe. 

But no, it wasn’t the sound of a katana smashing shelves or a smuppet exploding. It sounded different, almost like Bro was flash stepping into everything, slamming into the couch, his turntables… That happened once when Bro was too drunk, but now he was silent. Plus, it was way too early for him to be that fucked up.

Dave opens the door cautiously, confused by this novelty situation. He prepped his strife deck, knowing exactly how to pull out his shitty sword if this was more strifing… The door was yanked open and he leapt inside, sword out and guarded, waiting for the first strike. It fails to come. Surprised by the lack of blows, Dave whirls and strikes, stopping a moment before cutting skin. He stares in shock. So does the man.

Dave pulls the sword back in, guarded again and turns away as soon as he recognizes the man as non threat. If he wanted to attack Dave, he was too slow. 

Dave looks around, concerned he didn’t know where the threat was. Nothing had attacked him yet.

Multiple men in suits were standing around, staring at him in shock, with only one he recognized.

“Bro, the fuck is going on.” Bro stares, blank as ever from behind a group of men who still refused to move. Dave realizes they’re staring at his sword so his cheeks flare up. Bro warned him to never let anyone see him with it, so he immediately puts it back into his deck and stands up. 

Still, nobody moves.

“Bro,” Dave tries again. “The fuck?” Dave only lets his eyes move, looking for clues and finally notices the silver bracelets on the man’s wrist. Handcuffs. “Who you fuck up this time. You beat the shit out of Dennis, again?” Bro says nothing and finally one man steps forward.

“Your fath- guardian here has beat someone. Namely, you. We decided to investigate and,” the man gestures around. “Evidence of your ruined family life.” The fuck was wrong with the apartment? Dave didn’t mind the smuppets and swords so it really didn’t matter. What did that have to do with Bro beating him when that wasn’t even true? 

“We’ve ultimately decided to take this man into custody and will decide your fate later. However, we do think it best to cleave you from his presence as soon as possible.” Dave stares dumbly at the man. The fuck does that mean?

Dave plays it cool. “Me? Be beat? Shit yo, it’s not like he doesn’t give me a fighting chance, I’m just ain’t good enough, yet. It’s really no big deal, strifing’s just part of the Strider household. Same shit as wrestling, just cool as shit instead of lame as fuck.” The man doesn’t change his facial expression but nods and faces the thicker group of men around Bro.

“There we go, admission. Get rid of him, as long as you can. The higher ups will deal with the boy.” The group around Bro starts moving, pushing their way to the door with Bro in their midst. 

“The fuck?” Dave tries to get in their way but they push past. “You can’t just take him away, every man has his rights and shit. Where are you taking him, I can’t live without this dude, now let go,” he grabs one man’s arm and pulls hard, yanking him back but the rest keep moving with Bro. 

“Bro!” Dave tries to follow. Several men invade his line of sight, grabbing his arms to hold him back. Something snaps. “Let me go!” he snarls, scratching the hell out of them, fighting tooth and nail to get past but holding back on actually hurting them. Then they’d both be screwed. “Let me fucking go! BRO!” Something sharp pokes his neck and he starts swaying.

Was this what it was like when Bro got drunk? His movements were slow, and trying to flashstep just made him bump into the men around him. They seemed to multiply, getting bigger, crowding him, stealing his breath. He couldn’t breathe… “bro…” He crumples into unconsciousness.

 

When Dave comes too, everything is too bright. Shit, was he late for school? Not that he gave a shit but if he missed class too much, Bro would get a call and then…

Sometimes when he woke up late, the light would shine through the window and blind him but that was usually warm in Houston; this light had no warmth to it.

He drags one hand up to his face and finds it too heavy to move. Fuuuuck he was probably lying on the sheets again, got his arm stuck somehow. He starts wiggling, trying to get it out but nothing changes. He gives up and tries the other hand, finally starting to panic when neither can break loose. What the…?

He squints, barely able to see; forcing himself like the start of a roof strife. 

He looks directly into a fluorescent light, burning his eyes and makes out some shadowy figures to the sides. He rolls his head to one side and makes out a nearby shadow. A doctor. 

“Who… who are you?” Dave croaks. It was a weakness, a vulnerability, but he couldn’t put his mask up. Everything was too sharp, shattering it to pieces. 

“Just a man,” the doctor rumbles. “I need to warn you… We wouldn’t do this but it is of utmost importance to the security of this country. Maybe this planet.” He walks a little higher, moving out of Dave’s sight. “The training you’ve undergone. The color of your eyes. It’s all just too much of a coincidence. We cannot pass up an opportunity like this.” Dave hears some squeaks and rustling. A tight knot of anxiety rolls in Dave’s stomach. “You are the answer. We need to protect our people and the only way to do that is to get smart.”

Some fingers prod Dave’s face, pushing it back into the light. He struggles but they’re firm and cold, so cold that they seem to pierce his skin. He realizes they’re actually needles, pushing his head straight. He writhes with discomfort and hears a drill. 

“Don’t worry, we won’t kill you. We’re just going to hurt you a lot.” Something grinds into his skull and he starts screaming, the drill screaming back at him. “But you can take it. You always did before.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again thank you for reading this, if you got problems let me know and i hope you enjoy this story :) peace out homeslice!


	3. Chapter 3

Years into the future, but not many…

A young man stands in his bedroom. It just so happens that today, the 13th of April, is this young man’s birthday. Though it was 13 years ago he was given life, I have never been prouder. 

John scoffs at the second note left in his room today and wads it up, tossing it back onto his desk. “Real funny, Dad,” he mumbles and collapses onto his bed. Though initially interested, John was ultimately underwhelmed by the note and lack of a single present to go with it. 

The note was right, though, it was John’s birthday. He even got a Little Monsters poster from Dad with his first note but it looks like the rest of his presents would be supportive notes and more cake. Lame!

Unless...

John pushes off the bed and peers outside the window, wondering… oh, score! His dad’s car was gone, probably to get more baking supplies. With him gone… oh, hell yes. The mailman just pulled up! His friends haven’t messaged him yet, but maybe their presents arrived. Mailmen were pretty reliable; those bold toters of all those papery conduits of freedom, promising “there is hope yet”. There was hope of presents, that’s for sure! 

John’s glad he noticed this so soon instead of getting into a long, pointless conversation. It was all in good fun but he would get so distracted! Sometimes Dad would leave without a sound and John would only notice after the car got back. 

John rushes downstairs, banging doors open and pounding heavily on the stairs before getting outside. He marches toward the mailbox with gusto because of course a newly minted teenager must produce all the gusto possible! It was a rule or something and of course John was all about rules. 

Swagger overpowering common sense, John almost crashes into the mailbox. John crumples around the mailbox and shakes his head. Maybe that was too much gusto…. He reaches around to open the mailbox, and among the artifacts is… Oh, a green package!

Just the one... and some letters and coupons. Dang it Rose, your present didn’t get here! Well, she did live pretty far away… but wait, Jade lived in the middle of the ocean and her’s showed up. He feels swindled, distance be damned!

John decides to take the mail inside with his present but leaves the red mail thingy up to prank Dad. “And he will open the mailbox, but no mail will be there! Muhahahahaha!” The perfect crime. 

Actually… that prank kind of sucks. If anything, Dad will catch on right away and simply ask John for the mail. Almost entirely pointless.

Shrugging off the lameness of this prank, John sticks with it, knowing he must perform every prank imaginable to come anywhere close to his dad’s level of prankster gambit. Man, that level of power must be sweet. 

John heads back inside, mail well protected in his folded arms. No one could stop such a man gritted teenager as he. He would protect freedom!

Arriving at the door, he hears a loud thud and stops. What was that? 

Looking around, nobody was on the street. People usually weren’t, actually, which was kind of weird but today it just emphasized the strangeness of the noise. What was that sound? 

A lighter thump alerts John to something at the side of his house. Something near the backyard? There wasn’t really anything but grass… Either way, he sets the mail down, present on top and heads over. Maybe a cat was stuck in a tree or something. Would a cat make that sound? 

A cloud rolls overhead, darkening the earth as John creeps to the edge of his house. Hoping the cloud wasn’t foreshadowing imminent death, he rounds the corner and stops. Not a cat in a tree but a person lying in the grass. Oh no…

Hands paw at the lawn, gray with shadows and what looked with dry blood. 

John hesitates only a second before kneeling next to them, listening for breath. 

They were small, wearing all black. Black hair too… looks like they might be goth? 

John thinks it's a boy, though, and has no guilt about gripping their sides and heaving to roll them over. 

For sure it’s a boy but he looks pretty dang awful. His skin is ashy gray and seems drained of blood. Geez, this kid must really be sick! His nails are thick, sharp, and yellow… that was like hepatitis or something. His face is young and soft, maybe John’s age, with his upper lip jutting out in a way that makes John suspect he too, has an overbite. 

Looking higher, John finds lidded eyes and a bruised face, clearly injured. And higher yet, was a yellow… Hat? 

John reaches for it, stopping when he sees another one too. Maybe this kid was wearing a headband for devil horns? They were kind of weird looking but he wasn’t too into the whole emo goth stuff. Maybe this kid wore it for style. He decides to leave it on; maybe the kid would be mad to lose his “image” or whatever. 

Either way, this kid hurts and John is going to help him! John shuffles to his feet, and tries to get a decent grip on the boy’s sweater. Hopefully he was dragging the boy right; this is how you drag people in movies, right? 

John scrunches his face and starts tugging, the boy much heavier than he anticipated. They both grunt; John winces and hopes he isn’t hurting him. He keeps pulling, and as he rounds the corner, the sun comes out, warming his back. He looks down to check on the boy and- wait. His skin was for really dark gray. 

What was that about, tattoos?

His nails were sharp, clawlike and absolutely inhuman. 

John’s eyes widen when the boy coughs and grimaces, sharpened teeth peeking from behind those dark lips. Bright red blood coats his mouth and John almost drops the boy in surprise when an honest to God growl begins in the boy’s throat.

Boy? No. Alien?

Alien is the word.

John Egbert is dragging an alien into his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per usual hmu if you have some input and wanna fix anything. Thanks y'all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per usual, dont be afraid to correct me and shit :) I really welcome feedback and thank you for reading guys!

John hurries now, fumbling through the door, just trying to get the alien off the street as soon as possible. Of course the street was usually empty but if Dad came home and saw this… He’s been gone for awhile, he would probably get 5 more cakes out of it but he could be back any moment. John has no idea how he’d react to a gray, spiky alien in the house so John values every moment of peace he has. 

He drags the alien painfully up to his room. Every step burns and the alien isn’t getting any lighter but John refuses to give up, every moment at risk of dropping the creature back to the bottom of the stairs. 

Finally reaching his room, John puffs and drags the alien across the threshold. He slams the door closed and leans against it, panting. There. Dad didn’t go in his room much, and he’d probably be in the kitchen all day. John and the alien were safe now. 

He takes a minute to catch his breath before making the final push; getting the alien onto his bed.

Wow, this guy is heavy! John grunts, lifting with his wobbly legs and unceremoniously flops the alien down, the bed bouncing lightly. Double safe. 

Searching for signs of life, John notes how he… He? John was gonna have to deal with that when the creature woke up but John stood by he for now. He breathes shallowly. It’s too quick for a normal human, maybe average for his species? If it was unusual, John couldn’t tell. If it was unusual, that would be a bigger problem, something John wouldn’t be able to fix... Especially with the creature coughing up blood. Who’s he kidding, John wouldn’t be able to take care of a human, let alone an alien. 

He pushes that thought away and focuses on the smaller things, things he could fix. There were definitely bruises and cuts on his face, as if he had at been hit but they seemed faded. His arms have scratches too, but they look shallow, maybe from an anxious cat? 

Which means the big issue is his chest. Great. 

John can’t hide it anymore… There has to be something he could do about whatever’s going on. He might feel weird, and the boy might be mad but he needs to… Take off. The boy’s shirt. Maybe? He needs to see what’s going on. 

The boy mumbles, too low for John to hear. He moves closer, relieved for signs of consciousness. Maybe he wouldn’t need to invade this alien’s privacy (John tries to not think of an alien space probe in his hand, hovering over this poor alien…).

When John leans onto the bed, it snarls and lashes out. Claws rake through air and John stumbles back, lucky to avoid scratches from those sharp claws. He didn’t think much of it at first but knowing the boy was an alien, John notices the predatory curve, the bladelike edge. Getting struck by those would be a death wish! 

The alien settles again but seems on edge, twitching and curling it’s fingers. 

Thinking quickly, John hurries to his magic chest to find something to secure the alien. Fake arms, no… Magician’s hat, no… smoke pellets, might actually kill the alien so let’s be careful with those… Finally finding his trick handcuffs, John carefully moves closer, picking his way across the now messy floor. Stupid magic chest, being full of stuff.

John quietly tightens the cuffs on the alien, praying it wouldn’t lash out too soon and gut John. When he does strike, the moves are sluggish, dragging the other hand and weakening his blow. John feels bad... it’s not like he did anything wrong but John really didn’t want to die! He really shouldn’t feel bad though? How dangerous was this guy? What if he wasn’t even cognizant like a human? 

Shit, what if he was more like a wild animal?

After the second fit, the alien frowns and mumbles again. John moves closer and tries to listen. The creature’s eyes flutter, steadying for a second before closing again. He scowls and mouths something. 

No noise, so John frowns and tries to read… Jo- Job? Joke? Juice? Something to help the alien or is it just gobbly gook? 

He sighs and takes a step back, crossing his arms. He didn’t know what to do. What the hell was he gonna do about a real life alien?

The creature goes still again, now fully relaxed, almost peaceful. John watches, trying to think of what to do but something is off. 

A minute goes by, and John wonders why he’s so anxious. What was so weird about it? The alien stopped, same as before and even seems improved, not as scared, but… 

It hits him like a hammer on a nail. 

This guy is so relaxed because he stopped breathing. 

A look of horror quickly spreads across John's face as he looks down at the dead alien on his bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jk karkat probably isnt dead. what kind of story would that be?

John trembles and kneels beside the creature. Holy fuck… what was he supposed to do? He doesn't know CPR, he doesn't have electricity stuff for starting a heart and fuck, an alien… who knows if any of that would work anyway? 

John tries really hard to think of a solution but he’s afraid of hurting the boy, the alien, and the only thing he can do is bend down his head and pray so he does. 

Don't let this alien die on my bed, holy shit I'll be grounded he pleads. 

Wait, that was pretty much not a good thing to pray for. He tries to be a little less selfish. 

God, please let this thing… guy… live. He died an unworthy death, probably, and needs help so I should help him, right? He can't be here for no reason, please, God of all things, um, oh mighty and powerful and stuff... John thinks every flattering term this side of the universe but nothing helps. But in the back of his mind, something whispers to him in a way he’s not aware of. “Do the windy thing!”

In the midst of praying that God is very nice and kind and good and good looking he thinks how silly it would be if he tried to breath life into the alien. This is real life, of course he couldn’t actually do that unless he did CPR and that was not a thing he could do. Again, a voice whispers, “boy, do the windy thing!” 

In a fit of temporary insanity, John imagines he could make the boy breathe. He opens his senses, listening to everything around him; the silence, the buzzes, the beating of his own heart and he begs... God… please let this boy live.

A breeze flows through the room and he shudders, goosebumps rising. Funny, he doesn’t remember having the window open. 

The alien shoots up, gasping and struggling against the cuffs. It slips off the bed and onto the floor, yelping in pain. 

John scrambles back as the alien finds him, eyes wide. He had never seen such a red anywhere except maybe in fresh blood. It looks evil, demented, reminding him of a demon. Why the hell did he bring it in?!

The thing squeaks, a high pitched, reedy sound. Was that his native language? It grated and wasn’t anything John could understand, like a giant, carapaced bug being sawed in half. Gosh, he couldn’t understand, this thing was evil, this was so not good… 

The alien glares when John says nothing. He clears his throat and asks in scratchy but clear English, “So. Can I get some water, dumbass?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imma try to post another chapter today because this was so short but no promises!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell yea, actual exposition B) enjoy this long ass chapter I failed to post last week but i hope it was worth the wait!

John hands the glass over, shivering when a curled claw scratches his wrist. The alien holds the heavy glass with both hands, closing his eyes reverently as he gulps down the water. John watches the hint of an Adam’s apple bobbing, long eyelashes fluttering, and the faintly darker shade of what must be flush on his cheeks. 

Seriously, he almost died, his heart must be pounding now… But at least he could get back into the bed, that meant he was getting better, right? 

The alien turns back to John after finishing the water and notices John’s curiosity. His cheeks grow even darker and yep, that’s definitely blush. 

“Why do you have to stare? I’ll… I’ll poke your gander globes out if you keep it up.” John averts his gaze, suddenly aware of his rudeness. Wow, good thing his hair covers his red ears so this guy doesn’t think John’s a weirdo.

“Right, sorry.” Refusing to look at John, the alien holds out the glass. 

“Where do I put this container of chilled fluid?” 

“Um,” John takes the glass and moves it to his desk. “It’s just a glass of water.” The alien seems irritated. 

“I see. Using highblood vernacular to psych me out? It won’t work!” The aliens coughs hard but continues. “Just because I’m a lowblood and hurt and completely at a disadvantage doesn’t mean I’m scared of your blue eyes and freaky ass skin. I may be garbage but I’m a warrior, dammit!” The creature lunges out of the bed but crumples immediately. He coughs hard and long so much that John kneels beside him.

“Woah woah, calm down, guy! I don’t know what half of those words mean but I’m not calling you garbage! I’m not trying to psych you out, I’m not racist, you’re just another person, oh man...” 

The alien pants, getting his fit under control and squirms to throw a mean eye at John. “You can’t fool me, highblood. Mark my words, I’ll get out of these restraints and you’ll wish you never found me!” He wiggles, trying to get away from John with the handcuffs on and John tries to not laugh. 

He just really can’t help himself, this weird alien writhing like a flagellum is amazing. The threat of said alien puking on his bed was unlikely from the floor so John laughs all he wants… wait, unless he vomits on the floor. 

When John pulls himself together, the alien has curled up beside the bed and actually does look sick. Crap. 

John wipes the mirth off his face and apologizes. “Sorry. I really don’t know what to do but I guess I’ll start by saying hi, I’m John Egbert!” John sticks a hand out to shake but the alien looks no less horrified. After a couple seconds, John retracts his hand and combs his hair with his fingers.

“Look I’m sorry I laughed, everything is just so weird! I really didn’t expect to find an alien today and, it’s my birthday. Well, not that that matters, but I mean, I just need to explai-” 

“John,” the creature interrupts. John shuts up, surprised by its reaction. “Stop trying to be friendly it’s freaking me the fuck out.” Um. Okay? “Ok, so, you’re listening to me,” it starts, “so you may be a stupid but you’re not an idiot.” The alien hesitates, seeming to decide something. “Maybe I’m willing to have a conversation. If you, say, took these handcuffs off.” Oh, man. This guy didn’t deserve it but…

“Sorry,” John apologizes. “You seem much better! But if you fall asleep I don’t want to uh, die.” The alien frowns. “Look, I’m real sorry! If I could, I’d free you in a heartbeat, but you’re kind of dangerous and I can’t take you to a hospital or anything and I’m thinking about the government, and you being a freaking alien… ” he sighs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. But then, I really don’t know anything. If you tell me more about yourself maybe I can figure out what to do? How much does the government know, or did you escape from them or… now that I think about it you could be a mutant...” The alien flinches. Oh gosh. “Not that that’s a bad thing! That would be way cool and all, I just-” the alien barks his laughter. 

“If you think being a mutant is quote unquote ‘cool’, I can’t imagine how ass backwards your society is. But if you won’t take off these restraints, I guess…” he looks away. “I guess it can’t hurt to tell you some stuff.” He forces out the words like they physically hurt to say. He quickly reverts back to a weak yet biting tone. “But this isn’t because you’re stronger than me! I need you to tell me things, too, human. Like why do you pity me so much? Not that I’m into it, the whole pale thing is NOT okay but I mean, I guess I can deal for survival purposes. Shit, why did I say that? I’m such a dumbass sometimes, that was not sollicitation, but yeah, continue to help me.” 

“I still don’t know what you’re saying but as long as you’ll let me help you!” John sighs in relief and stands. “I really want to know more but you look pretty bad, no offense. Is there anything I can get you? Food or drinks or whatever?” With John’s help, the alien shuffles to his feet and sits on the edge of the bed. He glances at the empty glass and hesitantly requests some juice. 

Hurrying down the stairs, John wonders if that was what the alien requested when he almost died. “Juice.” 

Unfortunately, Dad got home, so John strifes briefly before acceding and taking some cake as well as a jug of orange juice with him. 

When the alien sees the layered cake, his eyes bulge. “Holy shit, Egg that’s more than I asked for. Is this what passes for juice on your planet or is it someone’s wriggler’s day?” John regretfully places the cake on the floor and can now access the juice. 

“It’s just my dad, he baked this for my birthday. Well, he actually made several cakes for my birthday, he bakes so much, but maybe you could eat some of them when you’re feeling better.” He passes the juice over. “And it’s Egbert.” 

The alien concedes, “Egbert.” John gives a half hearted smile as the alien eyes the juice with trepidation. John shrugs. 

“I swear, Howie Mendell is nowhere near my house. Besides, he only pisses in A.J.” The alien gives a questioning look. “It’s a joke.” Still, the guy says nothing. John shakes his head. “Nevermind, geez! I don’t think it’ll kill you.” The alien sniffs the juice while John makes himself comfortable at his desk. 

“It’s not grub juice so that’s something.” He gulps down the juice, but self consciously lowers it when he notices John watching. 

“Um, sorry.” John busies himself, looking at the ground while the alien takes another quick swig and caps the juice. “So what’s your name?” 

There’s a pause before the alien admits, “Karkat.” 

John smiles vaguely, keeping his eyes down. “Like honk honk, meow?” 

Karkat promptly scowls. “The fuck do meowbeasts have to do with my name?”

“Meowbeast? … meowbeast equals cat?” Karkat raises an eyebrow. 

“I don’t know what a fucking cack is but no. K-A-R-K-A-T.”

“Cat, dumbass, I’m… pretty sure it’s a meowbeast at least. Might as well get used to the words here.” 

“I almost died, fuckass, how about you suck a bulge.” John becomes very serious. 

“You did almost die. Want to explain how?” Karkat grimaces and fiddles the juice bottle. 

“I guess. But you can’t butt in until I’m finished. Your ass will remain seated and studiously take notes on what I say because talking is not a thing I want to do right now.” Despite the fluids, his throat did sound very scratchy. 

“What if I don’t understand?” Karkat glares at John, who eventually sighs. “I guess I can ask after. Sure, go for it.” John tries to encourage Karkat, looking more at him but hopefully without appearing creepy. Given the floor, Karkat seems uncertain. As he talks, he fidgets, with his juice bottle, rubbing his sides, picking at his sweater, which John notices has a very distinct, gray symbol in the middle. He speaks in halting, common words, almost like he’s rattling off a profile in an effort to be understandable. 

“My name is Karkat Vantas. I am 6 sweeps old. My lusus is a crab. I use sickles in a fight. I like movies and coding. I live in a suburb on Alternia, where I was going to be culled for my red blood.” He grimaces. “I have two great friends who helped me escape, a high blood that was good with words and a low blood fucktard who’s… who’s the smartest guy I know. There was a literal dump in my backyard, a piece of junk spaceship he fixed up. Sol- my smart friend took a look at it. He dissed me for fucking up the wiring when I was a literal grub but fuck him.” He pauses, a lot of emotions passing over his face. “I owe that fucker a lot.” Silences made John uncomfortable, so he coughs. Karkat glares. 

“What?” John asks. 

“I thought I told you to not interrupt, garbage mouth.” 

“I didn’t mean to! My throat hurt.”

“You’re not the one talking, so shut up.” Karkat coughs and takes another gulp of orange juice, much more animated than before.

“So yeah, basically I got in a fight and when I got hit,” he points to the faded marks on his face, “they saw my blood. I got the shit beat out of me, obviously through no fault of my own, I was outnumbered.” He rubs his ribs. “Once I was on the ground, they kicked the hell out of my fucking bloodpusher bones, pushing lava and culled trolls out of them. Couldn’t see a docterrorizer of course, they’d cull me on the spot… hell, my neighbors would have culled me on the spot, but Sollux was coming over and he just….” Karkat cuts himself off. “He took care of them. But he realized I needed to get the fuck out, got TZ to help. Never got around to fixing my bloodpusher bones or anything, and the restraints on the stupid ship probably didn’t help…” He glances up at John. “I guess that’s about it. Any questions?”

John fiddles with the edge of his shirt, trying to not stare. “It sounds pretty incredible. Amazing, that there’s a whole other world but... I still don’t get why they wanted to kill you?” Karkat gapes at him like he’s stupid.

“My blood color?” John shrugs. “Jesus, something must be wrong with your thinkpan if…” Karkat sighs. “Okay, how would you explain to a wriggler. Purple and blue colors are highblood they’re good. Green is midblood, it’s okay. Yellow and rust is shit. Red, like me… Well, that’s terminal.” He pokes a finger at John. “You, blue, good. Me, red, bad.” He pauses and when John still doesn’t say anything he goes, “Y’know, just stop me when this is familiar.”

“But it’s not familiar! I still don’t… I mean, I have red blood? All humans do? Why would mine be blue?” They stare at each other before John has a thought. “Wait, do you mean like, eye color? Then why don’t you just wear contacts?” 

“Are you dense, John? 1) contacts don’t fix your actual fucking blood.” He points to fresh scratches on his arms, a bright red. “2) Contacts are illegal fucking shit. I can’t even begin to list all the ways buying contacts are suspicious, or where I’d get them. That’s why I stay inside, on top of my stupid freaky eyes filling in so early. 3) How the fuck are your eyes blue with red blood?” 

“Geez, I don’t know! Freaky alien anatomy? Wait, how did anyone see you if you’re inside all the time?” Karkat groans and pushes his eyes with his palms. 

“Jesus, John, look I’m a screw up okay? Sweeps of staying inside and I fuck it all up when Sollux wants to come over, ok, you do stupid shit for friends.” Karkat grimaces and rubs his ribs again. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m done talking. Probably need to check my ribs, anyway.” 

“Oh,” John stands up, looking at his door. “Well, I don’t keep a mirror in my room or anything but you can use the bathroom. It’s in the hallway, and Dad’s downstairs, so… I mean, I guess I can give you some time, I’ll go distract Dad for a bit, probably get 6 more cakes but…” John peeks out of the room and gestures for Karkat to follow. The smell of baking wafts from below, the living room 5 degrees warmer than John’s room. 

John tiptoes over to the bathroom and pushes Karkat inside, holding it open only a crack to talk to him. “Okay, so there’s a first aid kit behind the mirror. Water comes out of the sink, uh… shit I don’t know what else you might need.” Karkat glares at him.

“Believe it or not, I know how to work an ablution block. Or BATHROOM. Whatever. But if you could take the cuffs off, I’d… Hate you less.”

“Oh!” John flicks the button, the cuffs coming off instantly. Amen for magic cuffs! “Easy as cake!”

Karkat turns away, rubbing his wrists. “Stupid humans… If your restraints open that easy you must be easy to fucking cull...” He seems to make up his mind over something and looks back at John, eyes low. “And, um, if you could bring some water back up… ” 

“Say no more.” He gives the alien a reassuring smile and closes the door. The vulnerability in Karkat’s voice stirs something in John. He wants to protect Karkat, help him any way he can and geez, leaving his entire planet behind… John has no idea what that’s like but he’ll help in anyway he can. There were so many questions but Karkat must be pretty overwhelmed. Maybe John could do something to get his mind off it, or make it less scary somehow…

He heads downstairs to talk to Dad, wondering what he’d say to stay in his room all night. He has to keep an eye on Karkat but also keep Dad away on his birthday of all things. What a day. 

He thuds down the stairs, and notices the mystery movie playing in the living room. Some old detective show, almost reminiscent of Problem Sleuth. It was a good movie, even though he couldn’t remember what it was called. Seriously, John Egbert not knowing a movie title. It was blasphemous! But still…

He steps into the kitchen, and asks, “Hey Dad, how much popcorn do we have?”


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey, glad you’re here!” Breath whooshes from John’s mouth, relieved to find Karkat back in his room. With his hands free, Karkat could have easily escaped and gotten himself captured or hurt or something. Thankfully, the guy’s too smart to try. Or just too injured. Well, he did almost die, being too injured to escape is probably a good thing? 

John promises to keep a closer eye on the boy. Hey, that’s what movie night is going to be about! Watching him and being friends and giving help. It’ll be great! 

“Hey, John hu- The fuck is that?” Tons of movies clatter in John’s arms as he bumps the bedroom door shut. 

“Just some sweet alien movies. I think it’ll be fun because you said you like movies and you could tell me more about your planet!” John dumps the pile onto his bed. 

“Wow, racist much?” John shrugs but Karkat immediately crawls on top of the pile. “Jesus, I thought you fleshy humans would have something softer for piles, but whatever. No feeling jams intended.” Karkat curls in on himself, almost catlike as he perches on the pile. 

“Um, Karkat?” The alien, now settled comfortably on the cases looks up at John. “... What are you doing?”

“... Aren't we watching movies?” 

“Yeah. So why are you sitting on them?” 

“Weren't you making a pile?” 

“Well, yeah. A pile of movies? To choose movies from? We could just sit on the bed and geez, not crack the disks.” John tugs one of the cases free, relieved to find the disk unbroken. “If you want, I could go get some extra pillows and blankets. Hey, yeah, we could make a fort!” The perfect fort, equal parts blanket and pillow begins to form in John’s mind. “Okay, I’ll grab those later.” 

Karkat shuffles off the pile, plastic cases creaking in protest. “So humans don’t use piles for exchanging information in a comforting and safe manner?” 

“Um, no? That sounds pretty gay.” Wait, was that rude? “Uh. No offense?” Karkat looks up, unblinking and unreadable. Shit. “Um. I’m not gay,” John explains. Still nothing. Double shit.

John ignores the awkward and sets up a movie in silence. Geez, what topic could he bring up? “Men in Black” could be a good start. “So, if there was a spaceship in your backyard, space travel is a thing. Did you know aliens exist?” Karkat scowls and starts organizing the movie cases into a stack. 

“Yeah, there’s a fuckton of other species. We conquered them all, from what I know. Trolls are trash.” Crinkling from the movie cases continue as John fiddles with his computer. “How have you never heard of us? We’re the scourge of the universe.” 

“I dunno, humans haven’t met aliens, unless the government is Area 51ing all of them, and that’s kind of hard to say. Those guys are mostly a bunch of untrustworthy douches that mess with things they shouldn’t. Illegal shit and stuff.” John backs away from the computer and pushes Karkat to make room on the bed. “This movie is the complete opposite, though. It’s about rad government workers policing aliens, if aliens lived on Earth and also fight a giant evil space bug.” 

At first, John hassles the troll to makes sure his lungs were okay; he got the sense this troll was a bit stubborn about actually taking care of himself. Karkat hesitates but reports that his bellowsacs (lungs) had been fucked after his beating and he probably had some bloodpusher bones (ribs) ripping them up. But the bones broke again breaking into Earth’s atmosphere so he’ll just set them and hope they heal right. When John asks if he could do something, Karkat waves it off, claiming more grub juice and minimal movement was the best medicine. John’s worries but Karkat seems to recover quickly, and not like John was a doctor anyway. 

He shrugs it off and they quickly start goofing around, John breaking out the popcorn and pillow fort equipment. 

After “Men in Black”, they watched “MAC and Me” to show how aliens were sweet and helpless and “Independence Day” to show how aliens were agents of evil. The movies were the perfect balance of stupidity and reality to get some bonding and real understanding about each other. 

As Movie Night goes on, John discovers some pretty strange things, like how Karkat relates to the bug alien from “Men in Black”, describing how he was born an egg (ova) and became a grub before pupating (“Gross, dude”). “Independence Day” is apparently very similar to how trolls take over planets which makes John uneasy until Karkat reassures Earth was unheard of or it would have been invaded already. 

Karkat also asks questions, like why humans thought everyone in the universe was soft and squishy (I guess because we are?), why the government didn’t just cull anyone who denied them (they do, but it’s a secret)? John tries to explain the human concept of “family”, making Karkat flip out momentarily to find out Dad, an adult, was in the goddamn house, and John learns only a little about lusii before debating why costumes, conflict and ultimatums were part of the drama that’s so important for good movies. Karkat disagrees and claims there just needs to be a good romance, which John rolls his eyes at, but sets up a new movie anyway. 

“Romance, Egbert. The four cornerstones of our entire existence ride on the quadrants.”

“I don’t know what that means but sounds stupid anyway.”

Karkat scowls. “Uh huh. What’s stupid is your blatant pale emotions. So shut up and tell me how ‘Armageddon’ relate to aliens?”

“It doesn’t, it's just a really great movie!”

“Got it. Most valuable movie, is ‘Armageddon’. Totally believe that, considering you also said the same thing for crappiest movie ever, ‘Men In Black’. Spoiler alert: it was so crappy I actually vomited up my feces and it dribbled out my nose. Disgusting, vile filth like that belongs in the load gaper.”

“Screw you, it’s poetic and sad the way Will Smith erases Tommy Lee’s memories.”

“I still don’t get why Will Smith is such a big actor; his culling abilities are way more defining of his character.”

“Dude, you keep forgetting this is human Will Smith. He’s actually really cool, hilarious and apparently the ultimate universal constant along with his dumb show.” John stretches for a second and checks the time. Oh geez, it’s really late. He should probably go find some dinner or something and thank Dad for the chill birthday; he hasn’t come to check on John even once and the boys were pretty grateful. 

But still, there was so much to ask. “How do you speak English?”

“I think the question is why you speak troll.” John hops on the bed and bumps into Karkat, who scooches sideways. 

“No, how do you speak English. We have like, a billions languages but all trolls only speak this one?”

“No, not really.” There’s a pause in conversation for sharp teeth to dissect a popcorn kernel. “I mean, there’s West Alternian, and North Alternian for the absolute nightmares that freeze their asses off, but who knows anything about that shit. Not me, that’s for sure.” John tugs the popcorn bowl from Karkat, who growls but concedes. That’s good! The growling doesn’t seem to hurt him anymore. Maybe he does heal fast. 

John frowns into the popcorn bowl. “Dammit Karkat, you ate the whole bowl again?”

“Fuck you, I’m starving. Who knows how long I was in that stupid ship anyway?” Before he can gripe any further, John splays his fingers on Karkat’s mouth. 

“Oh shoosh it’s fine Karkat. I can grab some more food, and I guess I have to check on my dad anyway. I haven’t seen him all day, and he’s probably gonna come say goodnight if I don’t first.” John shifts, sliding off the bed. “I’ll be right back!”

Leaving Karkat to the movie, John hurries down the stairs, hoping Dad was in the study. Of course he was. He’s bent over those street performer notes almost all hours of the afternoon! His dad was truly amazing. 

When John knocks, Dad turns the top paper over and welcomes John in, reaching for a hug.

“Hey, Dad. I really appreciate you letting me enjoy movie time and stuff, it’s been a great birthday. And that poster was really cool, too. I guess I don’t usually say thank you for stuff but it’s been a great day!” Dad holds John by the shoulders and looks him in the eye. 

“Son, I am so proud of you. I know I always say it, but I want you to know I mean it. You are a strong and special boy- no. You are a young man. I could not be prouder.” Dad reaches under his desk and produces three gifts. “These are for you.” Oh great, more loot! 

“Geez, Dad, thanks! That’s really great, thank you so much for the…” John spots something on his Gushers. Is that…? “FOR THE BETTY CROCKER GOODS. THANK YOU SO MUCH.” Dad hugs him, unaware of the sudden but intense internal conflict taking place in John’s mind. 

“Of course, my son, anything for you. And don’t forget your package on the table.” He ruffles John’s hair. “Now go to bed, son, you have school tomorrow.” One of John’s eyes twitch as he smiles at Dad. 

“Of COURSE, Dad. Anything for you!” John spins away, gripping the box of Gushers so tight it concaves. “Evil witch,” he whispers dramatically. Nevertheless, he grabs some leftovers from the kitchen (meatloaf that was baked and nutritious. BLUH.), his present from Jade and brings everything upstairs with him. 

When he bumps the door closed, Karkat snoozes on the small pile of movies. John can’t help but smile at the sight, grateful the nocturnal creature was adjusting nicely to Earth. Heck, maybe this was sleeping in for him; if John was up until the crack of dawn, he’d sleep heavy, too.

John gulps down half of the food and sets the plate on his desk. Maybe Karkat will get the hint and eat it whenever he wakes up. 

John sits at his desk and tries to think of what to do. He has to go to school tomorrow. Thankfully, Dad will be at work and then comes to pick him up, so at least Dad and Karkat won’t be in the house alone… Karkat can stay in secret, but what will he do during the day? Just because he stayed today, doesn’t mean he will tomorrow. Or the next day. Then what?

Not that Karkat is a prisoner or anything, but John feels responsible for the troll. He’s like an old friend and John would do anything for him. 

John stops Armageddon and idly opens his Pesterchum. Woah… He missed a lot of messages. 

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 16:26  
TT: I understand today is a very big day for you, John. Today is the day you join the ranks of young adolescence with our mutually dear friend Jade as well as myself. While I would wait for the arrival of your gift, I lament that it is unfinished, and will not be received by you this day. I offer no excuse for such tardiness. I request forgiveness, of course, and can only offer my sincerest regrets and promise such a gift must only be of utmost perfection for you, dear friend.  
TT: Giving me the silent treatment? Such a cold shoulder is unbecoming of a young male such as yourself.  
TT: John?  
TT: Wherever you are, happy birthday.   
tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 16:58

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 16:34  
GG: hi happy birthday john!!!!! <3  
GG: helloooooo??  
GG: ok i will talk to you later!!! :D  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 16:40

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 18:12  
GG: hello?  
GG: i wouldnt pester you this much, but i am worried!  
GG: well whatever youre doing i hope youre okay!!  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 18:23

Oh shit, he was such an ass.

ghostyTrickster [GT] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 23:11  
GT: oh man, i’m so sorry!  
GT: crap, you’re probably sleeping, but don’t worry i’m not mad at you or anything, i’ll explain later.  
ghostyTrickster [GT] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 23:14

ghostyTrickster [GT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 23:15  
GT: sorry jade, today was really wild!  
GT: i’ll explain later, but have a good night!  
ghostyTrickster [GT] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 23:17

Crap. What was he going to tell them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wonk ;) hope you enjoyed this chapter! if you have any feedback, let me know what's up, if you have any corrections, let me know that too. See ya next week!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jade is badass queeeeen lets do this!

ghostyTrickster [GT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  
GT: hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!  
GT: hey jade! :))))))))  
GT: how are you today????????  
GG: oh hi john!  
GG: im fine but how are you? rose and i missed you yesterday!  
GT: i’m the greatest! the absolute bestest!  
GT: sista!  
GG: are you sure john? youre acting pretty strange!  
GT: noooooooo what are you talking about!  
GT: i’m great!  
GT: you know what would be pretty strange though?  
GT: if you just happened to know what’s going on right now!  
GT: like just out of nowhere!  
GT: remember how that happens sometimes?  
GT: you just know things like what i got you for your birthday, dave’s disappearance, or that time i fell off my pogoride?  
GG: oh!  
GG: that thing finally happened didnt it??  
GG: youre talking about our new friend!  
GG: a … crabby… friend??? :)  
GT: … yeah.  
GT: you’re absolutely right.  
GT: i’m keeping my eye on you you tricky trickster.  
GT: i still don’t know how you know but you know.  
GT: so.  
GT: yeah.  
GG: yay!  
GG: this is gonna be so much fun!  
GT: well, it’ll be fun to meet him.  
GT: but i don’t know how much fun it is? it seems pretty dangerous…  
GT: also i still don’t how you know.  
GT: you knowitall mcpsychicpants.  
GG: john im not any more psychic than you though!  
GT: anyway, thanks for understanding, jade.  
GT: i’m glad you know.  
GG: anytime!  
GT: also i think it would be pretty cool if you could let people know about my new friend.  
GG: people?  
GT: you know.  
GT: all of the friends we have.  
GG: oh!  
GG: sure!  
GG: also ill see if i can find out more about our friend okay?  
GT: what.  
GG: it’ll be fun!  
GT: are you sure? i just said this was dangerous without you snooping around.  
GG: trust me!!  
GG: itll work out i promise :)  
GT: okay.  
GT: let me know if you find anything.  
GG: of course!  
GT: and jade?  
GG: hm???  
GT: thanks.  
GG: :)  
GG: talk to you later!  
GT: later!  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT]

Jade sighs happily and takes a moment to stretch. She also removes a red and gray striped string from her pinky for the first time in years. 

The thing John wants her to know about, she dreamed forever ago! Right around Dave’s disappearance actually, so she’s glad John reminded her, or she might’ve not remembered! But now that she knew, it was go time. There was a lot of work to do, and if they did it right, maybe they could all meet up! And by all of them, she meant all of them. :)

She’s so glad she fed Bec earlier, she needs full concentration for this.

She casually opens up the CIA login page and leans over her computer.

Time to start hacking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for following this story if you do dont forget to let me know if theres anything youd like me to fix or anything youd like to see


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSYCHIC PSYCHIC PSYCHIC

GT: haha!  
GT: hey jade! :))))))))  
GT: how are you today????????  
GG: oh hi john!  
GG: im fine but how are you? rose and i missed you yesterday!  
GT: i’m the greatest! the absolute bestest sista!  
GG: are you sure john? youre acting pretty strange!  
GT: noooooooo what are you talking about!  
GT: i’m great!  
GT: you know what would be pretty strange though?  
GT: if you just happened to know what’s going on right now!  
GT: like just out of nowhere!  
GT: remember how that happens sometimes?  
GT: you just know things like what i got you for your birthday, dave’s disappearance, or that time i fell off my pogoride?  
GG: oh!  
GG: that thing finally happened didnt it??  
GG: youre talking about our new friend!  
GG: a … crabby… friend??? :)  
GT: … yeah.  
GT: you’re absolutely right.  
GT: i’m keeping my eye on you you tricky trickster.  
GT: i still don’t know how you know but you know.  
GT: so.  
GT: yeah.  
GG: yay!  
GG: this is gonna be so much fun!  
GT: well, it’ll be fun to meet him.  
GT: but i don’t know how much fun it is? it seems pretty dangerous…  
GT: also i still don’t how you know.  
GT: you knowitall mcpsychicpants.  
GG: john im not any more psychic than you though!  
GT: anyway, thanks for understanding, jade.  
GT: i’m glad you know.  
GG: anytime!  
GT: also i think it would be pretty cool if you could let people know about my new friend.  
GG: people?  
GT: you know.  
GT: all of the friends we have.  
GG: oh!  
GG: sure!  
GG: also ill see if i can find out more about our friend okay?  
GT: what.  
GG: it’ll be fun!  
GT: are you sure? i just said this was dangerous without you snooping around.  
GG: trust me :)  
GG: itll work out  
GT: okay.  
GT: let me know if you find anything.  
GG: of course!  
GT: and jade?  
GG: hm???  
GT: thanks.  
GG: :) talk to you later!  
GT: later!  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT]

Jade sighs happily and takes a moment to stretch. She also takes advantage of the break to remove a red and gray striped string from her pinky for the first time in years. 

The thing John wants her to know about, she dreamed forever ago! Right around Dave’s disappearance actually, so she’s glad John reminded her, or she might’ve not understood a single thing! But now that she remembered, it was go time. There was a lot of work to do, and if they did it right, maybe they could all meet up, too! 

She’s so glad she fed Bec earlier, she needs full concentration for this.

She casually opens up the CIA login page and leans over her computer.

Time to start hacking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey friends! welcome back if you came back to this, or welcome if you're here for the first time!
> 
> i know it was awhile for me to come back to this, plz dont rip me to shreds, but school etc etc and now that the whole story is written out, i just need to edit and post the dang chapters once a week. should be okay, right?
> 
> thanks you buddies that read this shit, i hope youre enjoying this some, even if you dont comment but please give me any feedback as usual. 
> 
> for once, ill see you next week!


	10. Chapter 10

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  
GG: hi rose!  
TT: Hello, Jade. How are you on this seemingly inconspicuous day?  
GG: fine but i have to let you know…  
GG: happy birthday!  
TT: Oh?  
GG: sh! just listen!  
GG: good :)  
GG: you know im just wishing you a happy birthday just like EVERY OTHER! Word ;)  
GG: john... well, has not an single alien concept of us space ladies ! im done  
GG: he needs help and who better to do that than us?  
GG: hes not smart like us of course and i know youre quite the detective!  
GG: im sure youll passive aggressively let him know how smart we are and so will i!  
GG: happy birthday!  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

Rose frowns down at her chat, pondering the purpose.

Not only did Jade refuse her a single snide comment, but spoke completely out of ordinary. It was neither Rose’s birthday nor typical of Jade to speak ill of her friends. Let alone to one’s face. Rose wasn’t terribly passive aggressive, right?

Also, the grammar. Jade may have grown up in some obscure cranny of the globe but she was better at writing than that. 

Rose scans the message, finally catching an inconsistency that could derive meaning. While Jade projected extreme enthusiasm, there was no reason to do so about a false birthday, let alone multiple false birthdays. Nor did Jade have any interest in rapping. EVERY OTHER! Word

Clicking the puzzle together, Rose frowns again, hoping her interpretation was accurate. Jade wouldn’t perform something this complex without motive; it was beyond silly. Thinking about aliens was naive. And that’s why it had to be true. 

Rose focuses on the second half of the message, wondering how she could possibly help John. 

Jade alluded to sleuthing, but it wasn’t even half true. Rose prefered to investigate the mind rather than reality, but if Jade thought she could figure something out, she would. Jade knew things like that.

But what would that thing be? 

Mom knocks.

Rose startles away from her computer as the door opens. 

“M-Mom.” Rose clears her throat. “Hello.” She brushes down her skirt and turns to her mother, casually covering her computer. She regains her composure and takes on a cool voice. “What may I do for you, Mother Dearest?” 

Mom sways gently in the doorway. She blinks hard, gathering her thoughts before finally focussing on Rose. 

“Rose,” she sighs contentedly. “Rosie darling. It’s so nice to see ou-you.” She smiles and leans back on the doorframe. “Rose,” Mom giggles. The girl of darkness holds back signs of impatience. No sighing, no slouching, no frowning. She remains poised and alert, the antithesis to her mother and waits. This was the game. Rose could never win, her mother was much too good but she refused to lose. 

“Rose, I need you to tell me.” Mom continues. “Are you doing anything bad? Like. With your friends?” Rose tilts her head, the embodiment of perfection and innocence. 

“Bad, mother? I’ve never heard the word. My friends are all lovely.” Rose smiles politely, distant. “Any particular reason? Another dreadful news story? I would hate for you to feel so distraught that it may… muddle your mind.” Rose glances at the bottle in her mother’s arms. 

Mom tightens her hold on it’s neck, sighing deeply. “No no babs, not a story. Like. Real stuff.” she frowns deeply. “My boss said something about people were breaking into the compooper. Computer.” Mom settles her sight on Rose’s face. “I just need to make sure you aren’t doing anything bad, I wouldn’t want to…” She stops. Rose holds in another sigh, knowing her mother was losing her train of thought, probably remembering she needed to clean something… 

Mom’s eyes widen, somewhat focused and almost clear. “I’ve gotta go,” Mom blurts, stumbling from the door and down the hall. “Love you, Rose!” Rose remains poised, frozen. What on Earth was that about?

She hears stumbling as her mother hurries down the hall and soon enough, the sound disappears into the vacancy of their house. 

Rose turns back to her computer, analyzing the vibrant green of her friend’s text. Could this be the phenomenon she was to investigate? 

It suddenly occurs to Rose that her mother could easily have read the large text. Rose wonders… 

Maybe Rose couldn’t use computers like Jade but if Jade believed there was something to be done, this had to be it. 

Jade was idle but Rose pesters her anyway. 

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  
TT: Congratulations on anticipating my involvement.  
TT: Nevertheless, I think it best to warn you.  
TT: Cease further investigation via computer, my mother warns against “being bad”.  
TT: Her boss, whoever that may be, is dangerous enough that she reached out to warn me.  
TT: Be careful, Jade.  
TT: I’m off to investigate.  
tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all, been a week, gonna do my best to stick to that schedule :) have a good week, and I hope school starting won’t dampen your moods, but if it does, maybe this’ll lift it. Later y’all!


	11. Chapter 11

Rose follows her mother, literally tracing the path of destruction left by her wonky steps. Her mother must have been very drunk, not even picking up after herself as she stumbled down the hall. 

Or maybe very intent on something else. 

If her boss was really asking about company security, she could be reporting this very moment.

The idea appears silly to Rose; her mother the evil spy and her very own daughter sleuthing her way to the top secret agency, finding the top secret files. It’s amusing in it’s own way, but Rose relishes the idea of taking down her mother. Yes, a way to finally get back at her after all these years. 

She follows the trail downstairs and outside. It rained so her mother’s heels left deep impressions in the mud. Rose follows with ease and finds the path leading to… Jaspers? She pushes the door open, wondering why her mother would visit the deceased at a time like this. 

The moment she steps inside, her heart softens. Dear Jasper… Despite insisting there was nothing more than a strict patient relationship, despite her hesitance to offer affection for the kitten… she could not deny the twinge of anger at seeing his coffin pushed aside to reveal a gaping hole where his dais was. Affronted and nervous, Rose skirts the hole. Peeking down, she notices a steel rung ladder clinging to the wall. A secret tunnel. 

Creeping down and through a horizontal tunnel, Rose finds herself before a bright, huge grid. A power grid? Uninterested, Rose’s eyes trace the path right down the middle. There was nowhere to hide. Fortunately, that meant her mother had nowhere to hide either. Rose walks quickly down the middle. 

Rose finds a large monitor; blank. Some control panels stood underneath and deciding to not mess with them, Rose starts shuffling some of the papers on top. This is… way bigger than anything she expected. The documents were covered in patterns of G, C, A, T, each page headed by the Central Intelligence Agency letterhead. 

Well, of course, if an actual alien is involved, if the creature was connected to her mother… Then her mother works for the government? Since when? Why was this all hidden from her? How could her mom do this and still be a… a drunk?

“Rose.” She jumps and turns, papers scattering as she faces her Mom. The woman clutches a box to her chest and seems distraught. 

“Mom!” flustered, uncomposed, stupid, Rose doesn’t know what to say. “What are you doing here?”

Mom grimaces. “Rose, it’s my lab.” Rose cringes. That was a stupid question. “You shouldn’t be here but…” Mom sighs and looks down. “I need to tell you something. Come with me.” 

Hesitant, Rose follows her mother deeper into the lab. She has to be in some trouble, right? Following her mother, going into secret tunnels, entering a government lab of all things. This was government intelligence and suddenly Rose felt nervous about being found out. Mom didn’t seem as weak as Rose usually saw her. She walks with confidence and determination, stumbling only slightly (presumably from her earlier drinks) and was otherwise graceful. For a second, Rose could almost imagine her mother as a young girl, intelligent and confident. Not much different than herself. 

How does that fit with the mother she knew? Weak, and a housekeeper, and hateful and… Was all of that an act? 

Rose eyes her mother, trying to catch up and understand but she sees only sadness. Mom’s shoulders were tight but seemed as if carrying an enormous weight, her mouth a grim line, her brows downturned and angry even when her eyes were full of tears. It finally clicks. 

What could have made her mother fall apart? She must have unravelled, using drinks to hide. Rose tried analyzing her mother so many times, always assuming she was weak… But she didn’t realize her mother was strong. So strong, so alone, and with her own daughter holding her at arm’s length…

Rose shrinks into herself, ashamed and guilty. Her mother probably meant what she said; she probably didn’t have a single mean bone in her body, and Rose hated her so much… 

Their surroundings become pink instead of green, bright and cheerful as Rose’s room had been at 4 years old. Wizards and cats smile from every direction. A small tea set stands nearby, dusty and unused for years. 

Mom flops onto the bed, still clinging her box. Rose takes a dutiful seat at the tea party, picking up a wizard to borrow his seat. 

Mom sniffs and for the first time, Rose sees her crying. It was ugly, and painful. Uncertain how to deal with her mother, Rose leans over her knees, clutching the wizard. When it becomes clear Mom wouldn’t stop, Rose moves to sit next to her, hugging lightly and leaning her head on her mom’s shoulder.

“Moth- Mom?” Rose winces at how formal she sounds, how awkward she feels. This was her mother. “Mom, what’s wrong?” 

“You might not realize it, but I know about friends, Rose,” Mom whispers, hugging the box. “I know about protecting them… And he was the last one.” Rose rubs her back, trying to comfort her. 

“Who?”

“Dirk. Dirk of course. He’s my favorite. My love. I couldn’t have him, and I loved them all of course but-” she cuts herself off, laughing through her tears. “I’m not making any sense. I’m sorry, nothing ever made sense for you, Rosie.” She takes a deep breath, air blowing Rose’s bangs in a gentle breeze. It’s warm and comforting, so much better than dealing with the cold of the north, the giant house… Maybe she should’ve hugged her Mom. She should’ve loved her better, been nice to her, and been happy… 

“I used to lived here.” Mom gestures around her. “I didn’t have friends. I was alone. And I thought about it so hard. I thought and thought SO hard about having friends. And out of nowhere they… they just were.” something close to awe tinged her words. “They were all real. Janey. Jake. And Dirk.” another broken sob breaks her throat. “I. Remembered them. I knew them. But they didn’t remember me.” She shakes her head, voice growing strong again. “Janey never believed much in anything. Jake believed but he didn’t KNOW… not like he should’ve. How he could’ve if he gave a sht about any of us. And Dirk was…” She frowns, exactly the same way Rose does when she’s thinking. “I think he should’ve know. He out of all of us was so good at connecting the dots, figuring things out, pulling it all apart and piecing it back together... But something was wrong. He was distant. Talking to him was like talking to a wall. But when they died, he was all I had left…” She shifts, turning her body to Rose and looking right at her. Rose feels herself melting under that stare, but no, not yet. She needs to hear it all. 

“Rose, we’re all connected. My friends…. Your friends.” She hesitates only a moment. “Dirk’s kid. Er, his brother. Whatever. Dave.” Rose’s heart skips a beat. She hadn’t heard that name in so long… where was this coming from?

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know until he was gone and they said my work was gonna change everything, I just...” she takes a deep breath, unable to continue. Rose hugs her again. 

“Moth- Mom. I’m sorry but how does this connect? Dave, your friends, you, me…”

“And your alien.” Mom whispers. Rose’s freezes but stays close. She was never going to leave again. “Dirk was taken for what he did. And instead of giving Dave to someone good or even to his mother…” She swallows hard. “Dave was sent there.” She opens the box.

Rose hasn’t been this close to her mother since she was learning to read, leaning, looking, and learning beside her. It was the same all over again, same need for her mother to protect her but now the need to learn was crucial. She was helping John from some sort of government conspiracy. And now she was helping Dave, her friend who disappeared. 

When he stopped talking to them, John and Jade were adamant it was an accident, he must’ve lost pesterchum, but the longer he was gone, the more doubtful they became. One day, he just ceased to exist. They pretended it was only ever the three of them, and while he was an insufferable prick, he was their insufferable prick and she mourned his loss in secret just like John and Jade did. 

Stacks of papers with what look like more DNA codes are tossed aside. What looks like profiles are also put aside though Rose glances at them before her mother finds what she’s looking for. Rose can’t comprehend what she’s seeing at first but understanding washes over her like a tide as she stares at pictures filled with gray flesh, yellow sclera and a rainbow of colors. Running through them, the stack becomes a blur and Rose has to fight down nausea and panic. There’s so many cuts, and bruises, but…

“Is that… blood?” Mom nods, fingers skimming the various shades of yellow, green and blue. 

“They asked me what gene did this but…” she shrugs helplessly, gesturing vaguely. “It’s hard. They’ve got the same chromosomal pairs but it looks almost out of order, and insectal, and…” she stops, embarrassed. “You prefer discussing the mind, sorry.” 

Rose nods, vaguely surprised her mother knew that and sad that she didn’t know Mom knew and… she clears her throat. 

“You said Dave was there? How could he even survive, it must be…”

“The same,” Mom mutters. Rose tilts her head, questioning. “They have cities and suburbs and forests and look human… except for the horns and skin of course.” She looks almost apologetic at Rose. “They’re much more violent, but he could handle it. At least, they thought so.” Mom clears her throat and shuffles around some papers, pulling out another folder. “This is what we’ve figured out about the environment and culture. And…” she takes another, handling it with the delicacy of a bomb. “This is Dave’s file.”

Rose stares at the file. This was it. Their missing friend… And maybe a way to help the alien John’s harboring? Maybe. 

She slowly takes the folder and… oh God… 

There he is with a swollen face, eyes squinting. He once told her they were sensitive to light; could that be why they were closed? Or just from the pain he endured? He was small of course... the picture was a few years old but if memory serves, the last picture he sent to her was him sunburnt, cocky and ironic, confident he’d bring hell with him wherever he went. Here, he was crying and so pale. Bruises were prominent on his swollen skin and… 

“Oh my horrorterrors,” she breathes. Atop his head was a bloody mess scabbed over with candy corn horns drilled into his head. 

She closes the file, really afraid she’d be sick and sets the papers atop the cultural file. She looks into the box, hoping for a distraction and notices… 

“Is this… his?” she takes out what’s left in the box. A record t-shirt, ragged jeans, red sneakers and a pair of shades. She puts the clothes down and examines the sunglasses. They were covered in fingerprints, and Rose immediately starts wiping them off. Dave would never have let that happen, those… those…

“How did you get all this stuff?” she asks. 

“Files were given to anyone essential to the project but only the stuff they studied! Mine was the genes, of course. Once he was gone, they gave us full disclosure on what we were working on. They planned to get rid of his stuff, so…” she sighs and rubs her eyes. “I saved it. Out of guilt, or shame, or hope, I dunno. But I think there’s hope now.” She musses Rose’s hair, hugging her for the first time in years. Rose hugs back immediately, craving the touch she denied herself for so long. “This alien your friend’s got… maybe can get Dave back. He knows the planet, and if he got here, maybe we can get there.” She kisses Rose’s head. “Maybe we can get your brother back.” Rose turns slowly to face the only family member she ever knew in the universe.

“My brother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, let me know if there’s any mistakes or something you want me to explain >:) hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 16:13   
TT: Hello dearest friend.   
TT: I offer the warmest and fondest greeting, brief may it be.   
GG: hi!  
GG: thanks for the warning  
TT: What warning?  
GG: you know!  
GG: about space!  
TT: Oh, yes, the warning that… Governa… was onto you and needed space?   
TT: It was my pleasure to help such a dear friend.   
TT: However, in return, I request that you bring to mind a potential sleepover.   
GG: oh???  
TT: Yes. It appears I have much to tell you and all our friends.   
TT: I’m sure you know how to get here?  
GG: of course i do!  
TT: How incredibly unsurprised I am about this development.  
TT: And our other friends?  
GG: i got them too!  
GG: we will carpool! it will be fun :)  
TT: Excellent.   
TT: I expect to see you all, Friday afternoon, as soon as school is over.  
GG: of course! :)  
TT: Thank you, Jade.   
TT: I admit myself nervous, anxious for your arrival.   
TT: You all are, after all, my best of friends.   
TT: Do tell John I said hi.  
tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 16:56  
GG: you can tell him yourself! :))))  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 16:57

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 16:36  
GG: rose is definitely okay with having a sleepover!  
GT: wow, really?  
GG: yes!  
GG: we have been doing research but now that rose said its okay, we can finally get together!   
GT: ok.  
GT: but quick question.  
GT: how will we do that?  
GT: i’m pretty sure that’s basically impossible.   
GG: dont worry, we will be having a sleepover!  
GT: ummm…  
GG: trust me! i have… a car??? :O  
GT: you have a car?  
GG: haha lets just say ill be able to take you to roses house!  
GG: you and our new friend at least! :)  
GT: oh… kay?  
GG: lets say ill pick you up on friday at 4:13  
GG: so we can have the whole weekend!  
GT: oh geez.  
GT: what about my dad?   
GG: you mean you still havent told him? :O  
GT: no. should i?  
GG: how have you been sneaking food past him?  
GT: i dunno, there’s always food in the fridge and stuff.  
GT: how are you getting around your grandpa?  
GG: oh   
GG: that is a good question  
GG: but im sure he wont mind! its an adventure!  
GG: as long as i have enough computers and guns, im sure hell be fine with it!   
GT: oh geez.  
GT: fine i’ll tell my dad.  
GG: you better!   
GG: otherwise youll be grounded for life mister and i wouldnt even blame him!  
GT: :(  
GG: :)   
GG: dont worry john.  
GG: hes very supportive of you so im sure things will work out!  
GT: if you’re saying it, i guess i have to trust you.  
GG: :D  
GG: that is true!  
GG: thank you for the vote of confidence  
GT: yeah yeah.  
GT: also we were looking at… his… car. I guess.  
GT: it’s pretty banged up.  
GT: also underneath a tarp in my backyard.  
GT: i can see that blowing up in my face soon, so do you have an idea for how to hide it?  
GG: hmmmmmm  
GG: i suppose we can bring it with us!  
GT: how? it’s big and obvious and broken.  
GG: i already told you  
GG: i have a car!  
GT: yeah, sure. you just better have a really big tow truck.  
GG: just trust me!  
GG: i cant wait to see you both :) tell him i said hi!!  
GT: wait!  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] at 17:01  
GT: oh geez.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall like, i know nothing like, especially happens here, but needed to set up, so yall know whats going down >_> cant wait for you to see next week! lemme know if you have ideas or tips, peace out home slices


	13. Chapter 13

“John.” The boy in question paces back and forward. Karkat follows him with tired, red gander globes. Jesus, Karkat was sick of this conversation. 

“Okay, so I just need to tell Dad you exist. Not a problem.”

“John.” The boy passes Karkat again. 

“I need to tell my dad I’ve been harbouring an illegal space alien with claws under his roof for over a week. Totally fine.” John turns a 180 and passes Karkat yet again. 

“John.”

“Maybe also tell him that I lied to our neighbors and said we were fixing up his car in the backyard so they wouldn’t get suspicious?” He stops in his tracks, eyes widening. “Oh shit, what if they told him before me? What if he knows? I can’t-”

“JOHN.” Finally, the human stops and looks up. Flustered by actually catching that shithead’s attention, Karkat scrambles to think of something to say. “Uh. Can I have some more grubjuice?” Karkat insistently holds out the empty liquid container. 

John stares for a second and takes the container- sorry, glass, fuck these human words - and places it on his writing platform.

“Karkat, you don’t understand how bad this is. Human adults may not be scary compared to troll adults, but just imagine if you had to tell your lusus you brought in another lusus and he’s super dangerous and it’s all because he didn’t have a troll anymore and everything’s is just nervous and bad.” Karkat scowls. He gets it, he just wants the idiot to stop freaking out. 

“That wouldn’t work, dumbass, my lusus would pick up the scent immediately.”

“Okay, and then he’d strife you, get rid of the guy and then ground you. And all of that sounds pretty bad!”

“He’d throw a bitch fit, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah, but my dad is going to kill me. Literally!”

“Not literally.”

“Okay, fine, but he might literally kill you. Oh god,” John starts panicking again. “Oh god, Karkat, what if you get found out, you’re gonna be taken away, you’re gonna be experimented on, I can’t-”

“JOHN, STOP BEING SUCH A MELODRAMATIC SPAZ. WE LEAVE *TOMORROW*, AND WHILE YOUR HUMAN LUSUS-DAD WILL BE DISAPPOINTED, THIS TIME IN YOUR LIFE IS AN INSIGNIFICANT BLIP IN YOUR INSIGNIFICANT LIFE.”

“Karkat, shut up! He’ll hear you!”

“I HOPE HE DOES, WE’LL FINALLY GET SOMEWHERE IN THIS REPETITIOUS, INANE, CONVERSATION.” Struck with a brilliance, Karkat slides off the snooze platform and pushes out of John’s respiteblock. 

“Karkat?” Karkat pounds heavily down the zigzag incline, his keen hear ducts picking up John’s lighter steps behind him. John hisses, “wait wait wait wait,” tugging on Karkat’s sweater but the troll pushes forward, determined. The hive isn’t *that* big, and Karkat had four days to notice Dad spends all his time either in his career productivity block (which he was never to go into) or in the meal block (which Karkat visited multiple times for food). Given the warmth of the hive, typical with baking, Karkat deduces John’s lusus is in the meal block. 

Karkat bursts in and scowls at the adult human. “Hello Lusus Egbert, I’m the alien John has been harboring in secret. I have sharp claws and not as sharp horns because I am a failure of a specimen of my species, and frankly not nearly as deadly as I should be. Guess what’s not important though, not fucking that. Oh yeah, and in case you’re gander globes are not presently located on your face, I’m an alien.” 

The adult was just pulling a mince pie from the meal kiln but stops due to the outburst. Maybe the adult was surprised? Who fucking knows, most people were hard to read at the best of times and this particular human seems considerably chill for having a random fucking alien burst through his meal block door.

John blubbers excuses from behind Karkat and tugs at his sweater, as if he could still hide the troll from Dad. Idiot. 

Instead of attacking or even babbling incessantly like John, the adult merely shakes his head and puts the tray on the counter to cool. He closes the meal kiln, removes his baking gloves and crosses his arms in a respectful and daddly fashion. 

Feeling like a drama queen, Karkat lowers his glare and stuffs his fists into his pockets, horns lowered toward the unwavering gaze of Dad. John finally gives up and shuffles in front of Karkat.

“Hey, Dad. Um, this is my friend, Karkat. He’s been staying with us for a couple days, but-”

“John,” Dad interrupts. Shit. Was he mad? He might be fucking mad. “Of course I knew someone has been staying here.” John flushes a dark red. The color still surprised Karkat but he knows this was from John’s shame. Maybe because he had been lying to his lusus? “But I know you have a good heart son, and I trust you would protect someone. While I did not expect…” Dad’s voice wavers, unable to completely hide his surprise, “an alien…” he regains his stride, “I am proud of you for doing what's right.”

A smile sprouts from John’s sheepish face. “D-dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“You… you knew-”

“Most of our food has disappeared in the span of 3 days.” The man smiles at Karkat. “That's quite an appetite, son.” Karkat blusters, his face turning red, too. This, he knew was his embarrassment, of course. He could feel his own fucking emotions. 

“Yeah, well, if you've been frozen in space for who knows how long, you'd be fucking starving too.” John winces and mumbles in Karkat’s ear.

“Remember what I said about swearing?”

“Oh, right, excuse my fucking language.” Karkat stops, immediately aware of how much he cusses. “While I fuc- I’m so dam- Uh.” The man chuckles and turns back to his baking. 

“Watch that mouth around my son or I might put a bar of soap in it.” Seemingly no longer interested in the conversation, Dad starts sprinkling paprika onto the pie. “Dinner will be at 7. You’re welcome to join us… Karkat, was it?” John looks at Karkat who shrugs at the human. Sounds good to him. 

“Well, Dad there's one more thing…” Dad whirls and slams a cream pie into John’s face. Stunned, Karkat raises his fists, wondering if there would be a strife after all. 

“Yes son, I know you have plans to visit your friends and you have my permission. If you need a ride-”

“No thanks!” John squeaks. The tin falls to the floor, ringing hollowly against the tile. John’s expression puts a smile on Karkat’s face.

John stumbles over his own feet, pushing Karkat into the survival block, with Dad calling, “watch the carpet”. Karkat bursts into laughter. 

“Hahahaha, oh my gog, Egbert, you should see your fucking face! Hahahaha oh my gog, he got you good! I can’t even pretend that wasn’t funny, I might actually hack out my digestion sack, oh fuck!” Karkat wheezes, bellow sacks threatened but he could not stop laughing. What the fuck was up with that?! Just pie out of nowhere! Truly, this is the pinnacle of humor. 

John starts wiping the frosting off his glasses; all it really does is smear the mess around. 

“That wasn’t fair, I was totally serious there! All of the serious. All of it. So how was I supposed to know?” 

“I quote you when I say that’s why it’s fucking perfect! You and your stupid Ass-acre’s would call this 100 on the hilarity scale!”

“Yeah yeah, make people lose their shit over nothing, but GEEZ-”

“You look like the deranged marshmallow creature from the Ghost Bustermen! Hey, that movie actually proves useful for something; describing your face!”

“Oh shut up, it's a great movie, okay, but this isn’t the time, I gotta…” John removes his glasses, remembering he could see better without frosting covering his eyes. “Man, Jade got me this shirt…”

“I wish I could put that on Grubtube, oh man!”

“Shut up, ok, just focus! We’re going to Rose’s house and-” They both stop, slowly looking at each other with matching faces of shock. 

“Fucking hell, John. We’re going to Rose’s hive.” 

“We’re going to Rose’s house.” John beams. “Oh man. We get to meet them? This is gonna be so great!” He shakes Karkat’s reach appendage, the alien rolling his gander globes in response. 

“That means I’ll have to deal with two fuckwads as dumb as you!”

“This is gonna be so great!” 

“MORE idiots!”

“Rose and Jade!” John makes a mess of Karkat, hugging him tightly with frosting smearing all down their shirts. Despite the mess, despite his aching chest, Karkat smiles, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D per usual, let me know if you catch any mistakes, let me know if ya liked it! peace out, homeslices!


	14. Chapter 14

_WHOOSH._

“Oh! Sweet ground!” John collapses off Bec and kisses the ground. Karkat wheezes and groans as he slides off the dog. He lies in the grass, holding his ribs as Jade frowns down at them. 

“Geez, guys, it wasn’t that bad!”

“Easy for you to say! You’ve had this devil dog for how many years and didn’t tell us?” John buries his face in the grass. Screw allergies, it was so much nicer than that stupid space travel. 

Wormholes suck ass. 

“What was I supposed to say?” John eyes Jade as she slips off Bec, patting her pup’s cheek and kissing his nose. “Thank you!” He licks her cheek and warps space around himself, disappearing without a second thought. Devil Dog. “He’s probably under as much threat as Karkat! I don’t want either of them to get caught.” 

Karkat finally catches his breath. “While that was the absolute WORST thing I’ve ever experienced… I appreciate you doing your best? Just don’t fucking do it again.” He gulps, and lowers his head to the ground. He was still holding his ribs. 

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry Karkat!” Jade leans over him, concerned. “Are you okay?” 

John grumbles, his joints cracking as he straightens himself. She didn’t look after John like that… 

John shuffles closer to Karkat, rubbing the troll’s back. Nothing was gonna hurt him again. 

While Jade worries over Karkat, John glances up at Rose’s house, though house is putting it mildly. Her MANSION towers over them, complete with an observatory and a mausoleum. 

“Squeezing through space assholes doesn’t seem good for my bellowsac cage.” Karkat strains. 

“Yeah, maybe not. We’ll get Rose to find a first aid kit!” 

“Speaking of Rose, she knows we’re coming, right?” John asks. Jade looks up at the house, tilting her head. 

“She should! Maybe she lost track of time.” Jade wraps an arm around Karkat and takes most of his weight. “Let’s go find out!”

“This is entirely unnecessary, Jade human.”

“I know!” She doesn’t let go as they move the 50 feet to Rose’s house. 

John trails, the only one stunned by Rose’s obvious wealth. Well, he knew she was rich, he was the one to think of a knitting bag for her birthday instead of some extravagant present but still. This is huge. 

The house itself is boxy, but somehow elegant; immaculately white with long, tinted windows to give viewers inside a spectacular view of the forest. The river, part of the view, flows powerfully, but has a tinkling, musical sound as it disappeared underneath the house. The rush of water echoes somewhere in the distance, hinting that the water had an exit somewhere. Somewhere suspiciously waterfall-sounding. 

Near Jasper’s mausoleum (and John thought Rose was exaggerating about that), John spots a door, Jade heading straight for it. She knocks politely and they wait a second before the door opens. A flushed and smiling Rose awaits them.

“John! Jade!” She smiles slyly, lingering on Karkat. “Alien.” She steps aside. “Do come in.” She smirks. Wow, that’s totally not suspicious! 

Entering the house, John notes that it was equally lavish and amazing inside as it was outside. Statues of wizards tower in every direction and everything seems spotless save for the mess of food on the counter. In the living room, a very tall, very pale woman sits facing away from the kids. 

“Hello, Mrs. Lalonde,” John greets awkwardly. He shuffles in front of Karkat, wondering if she’d be perturbed by an alien in her house. Not everybody has a great parent like Dad. 

The woman giggles, seemingly unaware of his troll. She waves her hand in a “come here!” gesture. 

“Kids, kids!” She squeals, standing up. Woah. She’s really tall. Also, really pretty. She also seems really happy, the complete antithesis of Rose’s claims. She even hugs each of them (even Karkat), kissing Rose on the head. For some reason this makes Rose smile, when John swears she told him this action would result in a strife. 

“OMG, kids, I am so excited you‘re here! I made snacks and stuff, like, help yourself and if you need me, just holler. Also, call me Mom, It’s way easier, k?” She smiles at Rose before hugging her a second time. To John’s surprise, Rose just laughs and hugs her mother lightly. 

“Yes, Mom, we’ll let you know,” Rose promises. 

“Really, I’m sooooo glad to see you guys.” Rose’s mom waves as she heads upstairs. To do… what? John has no fucking clue, nor does he care through his sheer amazement. 

He stares at Rose as Jade helps (drags) Karkat to the couch. 

Smiling after her mother, Rose notices John’s expression. “What?” She gives him a shy smile and a peck on the cheek. “I assure you, this is a recent development, and though I haven’t been dishonest in anyway toward you, it’s a rather long story.” She actually fucking skips to the kitchen, grabbing a snack off the counter as she goes to sit by Jade. “I’m sure we have more pressing matters at hand.” Stubbornness melting at the sight of Karkat in pain, John follows. 

“You’re right, but you have some explaining to do! Especially cuz your mom is like, the nicest person ever!” Rose neatly opens her Gushers pouch and pops a red one in her mouth. 

“Again, recent development.” 

“Um, you guys?” Karkat mumbles. “Good to know there’s one less asshole we need to worry about, but can anyone do anything about the agonizing pain in my breathpulsers?” 

“Oh!” Rose hops up, then hesitates. “What do I get?” 

“Just any medicine, Karkat will figure out what to do,” John suggests. 

Rose nods and disappears down a hallway, reemerging with a hefty first aid kit and hands it to the alien. 

“I don’t know what you need, but Mother- Mom- prefers to be prepared.” She explains. Karkat nods and starts digging through the extensive pack, looking for… well, whatever he’s looking for. 

He starts taking off his shirt and John explodes into motion, face hot. “Wait!” he cries, leaping onto Karkat and tugging his shirt down. “Jegus, dummy, that’s kind of… well, inappropriate?” Everyone stares at him. His face is on fire. “Well, that’s a bit promiscuous, isn’t it?” He supplies, weakly. 

“John, we’re all friends here.” Rose comments, raising her eyebrow. “Not to mention we’re all quite young, and our…” she struggles for a good word, “friend, minimally developed, appears to be a boy and he’s hurt. This doesn’t feel radical in the slightest.” Jade nods, gently detangling John from Karkat. 

“Yeah! And if he’s hurt, maybe I can help him! I’ve taken care of myself for a long time, and he couldn’t really be all that different from us!” John hesitantly moves back to his spot, curling in on himself. 

Geez, this is embarrassing! Well, his friends may think he’s a bit conservative, but he seriously doesn’t want to see that! It’s weird. Even if he’d been loaning Karkat clothes, seeing him shirtless all the time, that was in the privacy of his own room! The girls didn’t need to know he knew Karkat had no nipples, and no belly button and had some badass scars in those areas and then some… 

John grumbles to himself as the girls examine Karkat. The alien blushes almost imperceptibly under his gray skin as he sniffs at Rose’s medicines. Rose’s gaze seems purely scientific, but Jade giggles a bit, leaning every which way to get a better look at Karkat’s chest. Bluh. At least his bruises seem better, and all of those scars look old now. 

Finally, Karkat opens some of the tubes and slathers them over himself, rubbing circles over the bruises and what seems to be particular stress points for his ribs. He also slowly winds some more gauze around himself. Dang it. Karkat just stopped using that like, yesterday. Stupid Devil Dog. 

“Hm,” Rose muses over Karkat. “I’m rather surprised you took a more natural approach. I thought you would use more complex concoctions than these simple oils.” 

“Yeah, well, human medicine smells like shit and I don’t know what’s in it. On Alternia, I had to use more natural things, anyway. If I had a busted speech flap, I couldn’t very well waltz into troll Walgreens and get some stupid, extra-ass cream, could I?” He pushes the medicine away and puts his shirt back on. 

“Karkat lived on a planet called Alternia. They would’ve killed him for his blood color.” John explains. Relieved that Karkat was fully clothed once more, John nabs a snack of pineapple slices and sits next to Karkat, offering the plate. 

“Thanks,” the alien mumbles, already munching on the pineapple. 

The girls openly stare at John, who pops a piece in his mouth. “What?” He asks around the fruit. 

“John, I don’t think you’ve ever eaten a fruit in your life!” Jade exclaims. “I told you about my garden and you thought it was gross!” John shrugs as Rose too, sits down. 

“Yeah, but it’s way better than cake, honestly. Plus, I read up on Karkat’s bones and stuff, pineapple seems to help? Also, milk, but he refuses to drink that stuff.”

“No way, shitstain. Hoofbeast juice is nasty, not to mention the freak who did drink it.” Karkat shivers and keeps eating. Geez, the pineapple was half gone already! 

After devouring some snacks, Rose politely dabs her mouth with a napkin and says, “As I understand it, we all have some level of knowledge of what’s going on. Perhaps we should share it. The boys first, then Jade and I?” John nods and turns towards Karkat. The alien frowns and shoves a handful of Doritos into his mouth. 

“Uhhh, maybe I’ll speak for us.” John describes the whole scenario, his initial reaction to Karkat, the weird cultural exchange and some of what he knows about trolls (Karkat nods a lot, but corrects John when he screws up), how the ship was damaged and that they brought it to Rose’s house (it was still where Bec dropped it), and how Dad seems totally undisturbed about housing an alien. 

“It’s pretty great knowing Karkat’s safe here, though,” John finishes. “Suburbs are not great places to hide aliens!” He leans back, crossing his arms as he sinks into the couch. 

“Sounds okay to me!” Jade chirps, leaning forward. “You kept him very safe John, and I’m very glad you are both okay!” Rose nods. 

“Yes. I’d imagine hiding an alien would be somewhat laborious but you’re secure here. The burden you suffered will all be in the past.” She smiles fondly at Karkat. John’s glad Karkat fits in so well! He’s almost like an old friend. 

“Me next!” Jade cheers. She doesn’t have much to share. Mostly, she just triggered the CIA alarm to get Rose’s mom into action. “I did find SOME stuff,” she offers. “Mainly launch dates, and some planet coordinates, but I don’t really know how to read them. And my dreams only showed me pieces of the planet… a couple moons, some pink trees… maybe a house?” 

The kids nod together, thanking her for sharing. They didn’t 100% believe her dreams but she really did help when it came to Rose’s mom. 

Also, it was really nice to see Jade in real life! John couldn’t stop marvelling that his friends were actually together! 

One by one, they all look to Rose. She blushes but smiles. 

“Various concerns in my house have been resolved since first starting this investigation,” she starts. “Even as new questions were raised, we developed a unified front. My mother and I have grown much closer… And I have discovered something rather unusual.” The smile fades and all the kids lean forward, anticipation building. 

“It’s been years… So long that we lost hope. Without saying a word, we agreed to never speak of this again, but…” Rose falters, looking down. She peeks up and John gives her an encouraging nod. Her mouth sets in a firm line. 

“Our friend Dave Strider may still be alive.” John’s heart stops. What? He glances carefully at his friends, gaging reactions. 

Jade covers her mouth, eyes wide. Karkat frowns intensely, focusing very hard on Rose. 

“Dave was in a particularly unique situation and some,” she struggles for a second, hate flashing in her eyes, “ people of particular intelligence… took advantage of that.” Rose grimaces, rubbing her arms. “My mother didn’t know… She wouldn’t have imagined anything like this but… She believes he found his way to Alternia.” She looks directly at Karkat, who stares right back. His eyes were wide, almost scared looking. “He could have seen you, met you. We… we could take you home, or protect you, whatever you need, but… Dave.” She pauses. “Dave is my brother.” Silent shock invades the room. The only thing audible is the low rush of water underneath the house. 

“Apparently, he had a unique upbringing.” Rose continues. “That, matched with the schism between the two sides of our family… Well, only he could have been the interspecies ambassador needed for somewhere like Alternia.” John leans back, Karkat immediately curling into his side. John scratches at Karkat’s scalp but his mind lies a whole universe away, wondering what the hell could have happened to Dave. How could he have survived that harsh planet? Why was he chosen?

“I…” John feels himself shaking, noting that Karkat was a tense coil beside him. “I…” Karkat hugs John close. 

“I’m sorry,” Karkat finishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! Sorry this took so long, the words were hard and it's all rehash but it's kinda important stuff. The gang's finally together which is rad! Domestic radness coming up :)
> 
> as usual, hit me up if ya got ideas or corrections. Thank you for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

After some tears and hesitant shooshing each other, the girls, boy and troll finally regain themselves. Unsure of what to do, Rose pulls out a stack of movies and offers for her guests to pick one. 

Still a bit shaken, John gives a wry smile as he slides the cases around. “Got any alien movies?”

“My upbringing consisted of cats and wizards, John. I’m sorry I don’t have any topical or action movies at this time but there’s Harry Potter, some movies about animals and some movies about romance.” Despite his own quiet rumination, Karkat looks up.

“Romance?”

“Human romance,” John says quickly. He breaths a small sigh of relief when Karkat sighs and curls against the couch again. Like hell was he going to watch some girly romance movie. 

“Harry Potter sounds good!” Jade nabs the case and pops the movie in, setting it up. Rose hurries to the kitchen to make popcorn while John leans back against the couch, curled up with Karkat. 

“You okay?” John mumbles in a low voice. Karkat’s eyes were narrowed and he was rubbing one fist against his temple. 

“... I don’t know if you as a particular person are this stupid or your whole species is, but on my planet, head rubbing is a sign of distress.” Karkat grumbles, little malice present. He just seems frustrated, John thinks. At least he’s okay enough to say mean things. 

“Okay, well… I dunno. You seemed kinda confused when you heard about… well…” John can’t bring himself to say his best bro’s name. If he does, he might start bawling again, and Karkat needed him. “Your planet?” he suggests instead. 

Karkat frowns deeply. “I don’t know, John. I. I…” He struggles to say something. What could it be? Not the planet? Maybe he doesn’t want another human around, or maybe he’s afraid of Dave, a particular human who seems to be a better troll than he is… honestly, John’s a little nervous of Dave himself. If he could fit in with such a brutal society, maybe Dave’s not the boy John thought he knew. 

But they had to try, right? Decent troll or not, Dave didn’t belong up there. 

Stuck in his own thoughts, John almost didn’t notice the movie starting, only brought back when Rose nudges him so she could sit on the corner of the couch. 

The movie was okay but John’s friends were so annoying. Throughout the movie, Karkat seemed in a stupor until he was interrupted. Jade would squeal and nudge Karkat, pointing to make him look. Each time, he would twist his lips into a smile and whisper something to her, making her laugh again. Rose would smirk and lean over John to converse with Karkat for ten seconds at a time, contemplating the plot with more and more ridiculous twists. 

Even if John’s friends are getting along, he notices Karkat slipping back into rumination each time and the distractions were really getting on his nerves! John rolled his eyes whenever they whispered but it happened a lot. By the end of the movie, he was squeezing his eyes tight, trying to get a grip on his blurry vision. 

Rolling his eyes was not good for his health. 

“John,” Rose whispers into his ear. He cracks open an eye, noticing Jade chatting to Karkat as she changes the movie. He opens both eyes and squints at Rose. 

“What?” He whispers back. She slowly creeps away from the glow of the T.V., tugging his sleeve. She stops next to the stairs and bends down, fiddling with a box he hadn’t noticed earlier. 

As Jade squeals in the background, Karkat growls back to her. John listens to the gentle buzz of conversation between his friends. If only it were like this all the time, if only there wasn’t the impending worry of Karkat’s discovery as well as the possibility of Dave being out there…. He didn’t leave, he was taken and it was something John and co. needed to fix but he also had school on Monday… 

Rose finally looks up at John, clenching a small bundle to her chest. Her sober look calms the worry in John’s heart. “They didn’t bring him anything but the clothes on his back. That said…” she unravels the bundle, shaking out a pair of ratty jeans, a pair of red converse, a scratched record shirt and a pair of shades. 

John’s reaching for the shades before he even knows he’s moving. His hand trembles as he pulls them closer, inspecting them for damage. He immediately wipes the shades on his shirt, knowing Dave would never let them get dirty. 

Rose smiles sadly at him. “I did the same thing when I saw them. But they’re scratched, see?” Rose gently twists John’s hands, the scratches reflecting in the dim light of the movie. 

John decides that eye rolling messed with him more than he thought, because his eyes were blurring again. Rose hugs him, and he finds her shirt soaked where he puts his head and yep, those are definitely tears. 

He clings desperately even as he can hear the opening music to the next movie and Jade’s chatter, and he hopes his friends on the couch don’t hear him as he cries his eyes out to Rose, gripping the shades Dave cared for so dearly as tight as he can. The same shades John gave him so long ago…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA et you didnt expect two chapters in one week losers ;) mainly because i didnt post one last week but whatever.   
>  anyway, kinda going without editing as hardcore as usual so let me know if theres any mistakes, let me know what you think! see ya next week!


	16. Chapter 16

After some tears and hesitant shooshing each other, the girls, boy and troll finally regain themselves. Unsure of what to do, Rose pulls out a stack of movies and offers for her guests to pick one. 

Still a bit shaken, John gives a wry smile as he slides the cases around. “Got any alien movies?”

“My upbringing consisted of cats and wizards, John. I’m sorry I don’t have any topical or action movies at this time but there’s Harry Potter, some movies about animals and some movies about romance.” Despite his own quiet rumination, Karkat looks up.

“Romance?”

“Human romance,” John says quickly. He breaths a small sigh of relief when Karkat sighs and curls against the couch again. Like hell was he going to watch some girly romance movie. 

“Harry Potter sounds good!” Jade nabs the case and pops the movie in, setting it up. Rose hurries to the kitchen to make popcorn while John leans back against the couch, curled up with Karkat. 

“You okay?” John mumbles in a low voice. Karkat’s eyes were narrowed and he was rubbing one fist against his temple. 

“... I don’t know if you as a particular person are this stupid or your whole species is, but on my planet, head rubbing is a sign of distress.” Karkat grumbles, little malice present. He just seems frustrated, John thinks. At least he’s okay enough to say mean things. 

“Okay, well… I dunno. You seemed kinda confused when you heard about… well…” John can’t bring himself to say his best bro’s name. If he does, he might start bawling again, and Karkat needed him. “Your planet?” he suggests instead. 

Karkat frowns deeply. “I don’t know, John. I. I…” He struggles to say something. What could it be? Not the planet? Maybe he doesn’t want another human around, or maybe he’s afraid of Dave, a particular human who seems to be a better troll than he is… honestly, John’s a little nervous of Dave himself. If he could fit in with such a brutal society, maybe Dave’s not the boy John thought he knew. 

But they had to try, right? Decent troll or not, Dave didn’t belong up there. 

Stuck in his own thoughts, John almost didn’t notice the movie starting, only brought back when Rose nudges him so she could sit on the corner of the couch. 

The movie was okay but John’s friends were so annoying. Throughout the movie, Karkat seemed in a stupor until he was interrupted. Jade would squeal and nudge Karkat, pointing to make him look. Each time, he would twist his lips into a smile and whisper something to her, making her laugh again. Rose would smirk and lean over John to converse with Karkat for ten seconds at a time, contemplating the plot with more and more ridiculous twists. 

Even if John’s friends are getting along, he notices Karkat slipping back into rumination each time and the distractions were really getting on his nerves! John rolled his eyes whenever they whispered but it happened a lot. By the end of the movie, he was squeezing his eyes tight, trying to get a grip on his blurry vision. 

Rolling his eyes was not good for his health. 

“John,” Rose whispers into his ear. He cracks open an eye, noticing Jade chatting to Karkat as she changes the movie. He opens both eyes and squints at Rose. 

“What?” He whispers back. She slowly creeps away from the glow of the T.V., tugging his sleeve. She stops next to the stairs and bends down, fiddling with a box he hadn’t noticed earlier. 

As Jade squeals in the background, Karkat growls back to her. John listens to the gentle buzz of conversation between his friends. If only it were like this all the time, if only there wasn’t the impending worry of Karkat’s discovery as well as the possibility of Dave being out there…. He didn’t leave, he was taken and it was something John and co. needed to fix but he also had school on Monday… 

Rose finally looks up at John, clenching a small bundle to her chest. Her sober look calms the worry in John’s heart. “They didn’t bring him anything but the clothes on his back. That said…” she unravels the bundle, shaking out a pair of ratty jeans, a pair of red converse, a scratched record shirt and a pair of shades. 

John’s reaching for the shades before he even knows he’s moving. His hand trembles as he pulls them closer, inspecting them for damage. He immediately wipes the shades on his shirt, knowing Dave would never let them get dirty. 

Rose smiles sadly at him. “I did the same thing when I saw them. But they’re scratched, see?” Rose gently twists John’s hands, the scratches reflecting in the dim light of the movie. 

John decides that eye rolling messed with him more than he thought, because his eyes were blurring again. Rose hugs him, and he finds her shirt soaked where he puts his head and yep, those are definitely tears. 

He clings desperately even as he can hear the opening music to the next movie and Jade’s chatter, and he hopes his friends on the couch don’t hear him as he cries his eyes out to Rose, gripping the shades Dave cared for so dearly as tight as he can. The same shades John gave him so long ago…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh geez guys, the time keeps slipping away from me! here ya go!

**Author's Note:**

> Dont forget to let me know anything youd like to see or for me to fix ,and thanks for reading!


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